Fresh outbreak of Nipah virus in Bangladesh. The large fruit bats, also known as flying foxes, are the primary carrier of. ( ...ChercherparthèmeChercherparrégionChercherpargenreCloseMenuAideetPolitiqueConflitEnvironnementetcatastrophesMigrationQuisommes-nousAccueilAsieBangladeshSharetoTwitterSharetoFacebookSharewithafriendonWhatsAppEmailtoafriendAussidisponibleenEnglishالعربيةDHAKAHealthexpertsinBangladeshhavereportedafreshoutbreakoftheNipahvirus,with10deathsinthepastfewweeks.Ifinfectedyouhaveahighchanceofdying.“Thefatalityrateisanastounding77percent,”ASMAlamgir,avirologistattheInstituteofEpidemiology,DiseaseControlandResearch(IEDCR),toldIRIN.SincethedeadlypathogenappearedinBangladesh12yearsago,188casesand146deathshavebeenreported;including12infectionsand10deathssofarin2013.Thevirusiszoonotic,meaningitcanbetransmittedbetweenanimalsandhumans.Infectioniscausedbytheconsumptionoftherawsapofadatepalmtreewhichhasbeencontaminatedwithurineorsalivafrominfectedfruitbats.Whenthesapisconsumed,thevirusinfectsthehumanbody.Onceinfected,thepatientcanspreadthe virustootherpeoplethroughphysicalcontact,healthexpertssay.Winter(DecembertoearlyFebruary)isthetraditionaldatepalmsapgatheringseasoninBangladeshandtherawsapisapopulardrinkinruralareas.Theoutbreakcoincideswiththisseason,appearingbetweenDecemberandMay.Traditionallyoutbreakshavetakenplaceinagroupof10districts(Meherpur,Noagoan,Rajbari,Faridpur,Tangail,Thakurgaon,Kushtia,Manikgonj,Rajshahi,andLalmonirhat)knownasthe“Nipahbelt”.However,Dhaka,theBangladeshicapital,reporteditsfirstvictiminJanuary.“AlthoughthesapwasbroughtfromMymensingh[District],itwasconsumedinDhaka.ThisisthefirstcaseofaNipah-relateddeathinthecity,”saidAlamgir.Themostrecentdeathwasofan11-month-oldbabyintheportcityofChittagongon4February.GovernmentresponseWithnotreatmentorvaccineavailableforeitherpeopleoranimals,preventionandpublicawarenessarekey,healthexpertssay.“TheonlyeffectivewayofpreventingtheNipahoutbreaksistostoppeoplefromdrinkingrawdatepalmsap.Awarenessremainsqui